Feds probe Uber’s tracking of Lyft drivers – Los Angeles Times

The Justice Department is investigating whether or not Uber illegally used software program to trace drivers for Lyft, its primary experience-hailing competitor, to realize a bonus in attracting and recruiting drivers, based on two individuals acquainted with the probe.

The FBI and the U.S. lawyer’s workplace in New York’s Southern District need to know if use of the software program, which created pretend buyer accounts, broke any federal legal guidelines, stated the individuals, who did not need to be recognized as a result of they weren’t approved to debate the case publicly.

An Uber spokeswoman stated Friday it’s cooperating within the probe and that use of the software program has been discontinued. The U.S. lawyer’s workplace wouldn’t touch upon the case.

The investigation provides to mounting authorized issues for Uber, together with allegations of company espionage involving autonomous car know-how and no less than one different federal investigation into use of software program to thwart native authorities efforts to watch its operations.

The newest probe apparently facilities on software program recognized inside Uber as “Hell.” A federal class-motion lawsuit filed by a Lyft driver in San Francisco alleges that Uber developed the spy ware that allowed it to pose as Lyft clients and achieve entry to Lyft’s pc techniques. The software program let Uber entry the situation of as much as eight Lyft drivers at one time and get their distinctive Lyft identification quantity. Uber then used that quantity to trace the drivers’ places, the lawsuit alleged.

Uber then matched the Lyft drivers’ identities with Uber inner data to seek out drivers working for each providers, and gave these drivers incentives to work primarily for Uber “thereby reducing the supply of Lyft drivers, which resulted in increased wait times for Lyft customers and diminished earnings for Lyft drivers,” the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit, which Uber stated was just lately dismissed, alleged that the apply violated the federal Wiretap Act. No dismissal paperwork is listed in federal courtroom data, and attorneys for the plaintiff, Michael Gonzales, couldn’t be reached Friday.

Uber attorneys, in a authorized response to the lawsuit, stated Gonzales is alleging solely that Uber used “commonly available software” to gather knowledge that might be accessible to anybody utilizing the Lyft app. “The communications were therefore ‘readily available to the general public’ and the Wiretap Act does not apply,” the Uber legal professionals wrote.

News of the investigation was reported earlier Friday by the Wall Street Journal.

Uber’s different authorized issues embrace a lawsuit filed by Waymo, the autonomous automotive unit spun off from Google, alleging that Anthony Levandowski, a former Google engineer, stole commerce secrets and techniques earlier than departing in January 2016 to discovered a robotic car startup that Uber acquired seven months later.

Uber is also beneath federal investigation over allegations that it used phony software program to stop city officers from wanting into whether or not the corporate was following native laws. Local officers in Portland, Ore., and Philadelphia confirmed that they have been advised by federal authorities of the investigation.